John F. Kennedy Knights commemorate 1984 Metro Bowl victory 40 years later

Where are those kids now? I want that to be my legacy.”

Jerome Horowitz, former John F. Kennedy High School football coach

The beginning of next month will mark a significant milestone in Marble Hill sports history.

Sunday, Dec. 1 marks the 40-year anniversary of the 1984 Metro Bowl — where now-closed John F. Kennedy High School defeated St. John the Baptist, 30-26, in what is now regarded as an epic game resulting in Kennedy’s varsity football team being named New York City and New York State PSAL (Public School Athletic League) champions of that year.

Both, that game and that season, have significant meaning for Kennedy players and alums — given the fact that the Metro Bowl win in 1984 concluded an undefeated 10-0 season for the Kennedy Knights.

The Metro Bowl win was the first time Kennedy High School, or any school in the borough, defeated a Catholic high school in a football game with such high stakes.

Their opponent in the now-defunct Metro Bowl, St. John the Baptist, had previously won three consecutive Metro Bowl championships from 1980 through 1982.

However, the Knights varsity football team was destined to make history — with a roster featuring All-American talent such as Derek Hill, who ran for more than 1,000 yards during his high school football career, considered a significant achievement for a high school football player

The team roster also included cornerback Erik Malcolm Bishop, who was a senior at Kennedy during the team’s undefeated season in ’84.

“That season was just an unbelievable experience — it was exciting to capitalize on the opportunity and accomplish something that had never been done before,” Bishop said, who was unsure exactly why the Metro Bowl, which featured the two best high school football teams in the state, was discontinued after 1986, but did say that the annual game was nearing its end when “a public school finally won.”

Bishop, along with his younger brother, was raised by a single mother after his father was killed by a drunk driver when Bishop was four years old. His mother then moved the family to Riverdale where he has lived ever since.

“We were in high school, but it was more of a college-like atmosphere in the stadium when those games were being played,” Bishop said.

According to Bishop, one of the keys to the team’s success was the installation of then-head coach Jerry Horowitz’ ‘Wing-T Formation’, an offensive pattern involving a lot of misdirection, usually making it more difficult for the defense to react to a given play.

“I don’t remember each and every play from that game like [Coach Horowitz] does, but I do remember being on the goal line — we held them off and prevented their offense from scoring and taking the lead,” Bishop recalled from the historic game.

Following the Metro Bowl victory, the Knights players and coaching staff received the ‘Key to the Bronx.’

Another person who helped produce Kennedy’s undefeated season -- Mary DeCesare, the team’s life coach, who Bishop described as the “mother hen of the group.” She provided players with tutoring, meals and sometimes rides home after practice. 

Also known by his pen name, “Booker Geez,” Bishop added that the Knights football team was made up of players of different races and ethnicities — which only made the bond of brotherhood between the players stronger and created more camaraderie.

According to Bishop, despite racism taking place throughout the country during that time and previously, race or ethnicity didn’t matter in their circle – the only thing that mattered when it came to football was the team.

He is currently in the process of writing another book, described as a journey to manhood which he discovered on the football field — to be named, appropriately, ’Uptown Knights,’ which is expected to be released in April of next year.

His first book, Locked Up And Put Away: My 10 Years as a Juvenile Counselor, was published in 2019.

After graduating from Kennedy High School in the spring of 1985, Bishop, now a father of three, went on to attend Delaware State University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising.

Bishop’s youngest, 14-year old Bryce, currently plays safety for Kennedy’s junior varsity football team. He also wears his dad’s jersey number, #4.

“As great as that season was, I want my legacy to be more about all the kids I coached who have made successful lives for themselves,” former Kennedy High School football head coach Jerome “Jerry” Horowitz said, who coached at Kennedy from 1981 to 2000 and won five Public Schools Athletic League championships before he was appointed senior director of youth football for the National Football League. 

“Where are those kids now? I want that to be my legacy,” he added.

Horowitz’ coaching style involved discipline while also motivating his players and showing them how to work together as a team to accomplish the same goal by winning games but also, more importantly, learn how to be successful after their high school football careers.

“If I ever yelled at my players, it was never about football, it was about life lessons,” Horowitz said. “Being on time, attending class, respecting others – those are some of the lessons I tried to instill. I cared more about their futures even more than I cared about how they did on the field,” Horowitz added.

According to Bishop, Coach Horowitz would always wear shorts, regardless of the weather, which Bishop said sent a message to the team during practices and games.

“It was like he was saying to us, without saying it, ‘If I can stand on the sidelines wearing shorts during the cold winter months, then all of you (the players) better give a full effort when you’re out on that football field.’”

Following the ‘84 season and graduation in the spring of 1985, several players from the Kennedy varsity team went on to attend colleges and universities including Colgate, Hofstra, Murray State, Iona, Delaware State University, Valdosta State University, Nassau Community College, Jackson State University, American International College and Kentucky, among others.

One player, O’Neil Glenn, attended the University of Maryland and was later drafted by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Another, Derrick Singleton, was a U.S. Army lieutenant who relocated to Norway to be a senior contract manager for the Norwegian Material Defense Agency.

A documentary film to commemorate the Knight’s anniversary of that historic season is also in the works.

Class of ’85 alum Donovan Lambert, who described Coach Horowitz as a “larger-than-life figure” and “the engine that ran that machine,” is directing the documentary scheduled to be released in the spring of 2025.

“For that team to achieve something that had never been done previously, is what makes this a great story,” Lambert said, who has 30 years of experience in TV and film production. 

“That (’84) team was memorable — not just for what they accomplished, but how they accomplished it,” he added. “It was just very exciting at Kennedy High School during that time.”

Lambert said students who didn’t play on the team, such as himself, still had a tremendous amount of pride for their Knights.

Although the school closed down in August 2014, with several Bronx specialty schools now occupying the building, the essence and memories of Kennedy High School are still very much alive with fellow alumni organizing reunions along with updates on the Kennedy High School Knights Facebook page.

The Knights Facebook page began the process of honoring 40 football players in 40 days earlier this month, highlighting one player from the ’84 championship team on each day.